A Mississippi woman is facing child neglect charges after she allegedly brought her toddler to Walmart dressed only in a diaper amid freezing temperatures, WJTV reports.
Around 10:30 a.m. on January 17, police in Byram, southwest of Jackson, were called to the store and found 26-year-old Kambria Gabrielle Darby in the parking lot. It was about 20 degrees Fahrenheit at the time.
While Darby was inside shopping, several people confronted her about her 2-year-old son in the cart, who appeared to be cold and shaking. A video posted to social media showed her tossing a bag of frozen food at the child.
“He’s sitting there shaking,” one man can be heard saying in the video, according to WJTV.
“She’s throwing cold food on this child. What’s wrong with you?” one customer said to Darby, according to the now-viral video.
“Lower your voice, who are you?” Darby responded.
“You’re crazy,” said another man, prompting Darby to utter expletives and then twerk.
Some shoppers put clothing on the child inside the store. A video posted by Felicia Darling, a Walmart employee, showed a shopper dressing the child as Darby scrolled on her phone.
“It seemed like in his eyes he was just looking for help. He was crying out for help,” Darling told WJTV. Darling alleges Walmart fired her after posting the video.
Child Protection Services was called to the scene and the child was put in the care of a relative, according to WLBT-TV.
Darby has been charged with one count of child neglect. Since being released on bond, she defended herself and her parenting on social media.
“I have pics of every meal I’ve cooked them,” Darby allegedly wrote in a Facebook post, according to the Daily Mail, adding: “I know this too shall pass. I know one day me and my kids will be reunited.”
Marie Darby Pickens, Darby’s great-aunt and a retired social worker, said that while she disagreed with what Darby did, she believes her niece is a good mom.
“Everything I’ve seen with her and the kids has been positive,” Pickens told the New York Post. “I don’t condone what was done and it was right to be reported but we don’t know both sides of the story. Sometimes kids can be difficult not wanting to put their clothes on, or taking them off and maybe she was in a rush to pick up some things.”
[Feature Photo: Kambria Gabrielle Darby/Byram Police Department]
